It is well known in the field of dentistry that failure to remove plaque from dentition surfaces and debris between dentitions is a principal cause of dental diseases such as tooth decay and gingivitis for example. Removal of plaque and debris by brushing is the commonest and easiest method known. However, brushing is generally inadequate especially when self-administered. A more efficient and known technique is the cleaning of dentition surfaces and areas between such surfaces by using a dental tape or floss(hereinafter generally termed "floss") which is moved reciprocally over and between the dentition surfaces. Furthermore, the reciprocating motion of the floss as it is manipulated over and between the dentition surfaces is beneficial as a treatment for and prevention of periodontal diseases, such as gingivitis and the like. This beneficial result occurs since the free margin of the gingivi which is adjacent to the individual teeth of the dentition and forms the gingival sulcus can be readily reached by dental floss, although it is generally inaccessible to a brush or other instruments, and the sulci are subject to the invasion of plaque or colonies of bacteria which cause diseases of these tissues. Thus, floss, in general, is particularly beneficial in removing plaque and debris, as well as serving as a vehicle for the application of medication. On the other hand, dental tape or floss is inconvenient and awkward to handle.
Consequently, much development has been undertaken in the past to provide dental tape or floss in various forms which is more convenient to handle and use. In addition, much development has taken place to provide mechanical devices for the flossing of dentition surfaces. Therefore, past developments have broadly involved provision of dental tape or floss in various forms to render the same easier to use and the provision of mechanical devices to support or hold the dental tape or floss in a manner to that it can be employed with greater efficiency and facility.
As an example of such developments, U.S. Pat. No. 4, 172,687 discloses a flossing device which is manipulated by hand and provided with a pair of spaced, resilient arms having fingers extending therefrom. The fingers are equipped with knobs on their distal ends and a length of dental tape or floss having a grommet on each end is disposed over the knobs on the ends of the fingers. A somewhat similar device, but which is power driven, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,354. The disclosure in this latter patent indicates that the dental tape or floss is tensioned between a pair of L-shaped arms attached to a handle which is adapted to be driven by the power element. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,686 discloses a hand manipulated flossing device which includes a handle and an adjustable head provided with a single strand or a plurality of strands of dental tape of floss.
Still another dentition surface cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,872 in which a flexible dental tape or floss disposed on a handle having a detachable yoke for tautly supporting a run of the tape, the tape being attached to a pair of anchor pins disposed on the handle and one of which is disposed on a reciprocable trigger mounted in the handle for the purpose of tensioning the tape. The tape per se is provided with non-elastic loops at each end which are disposed over the previously mentioned pins. U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,804 discloses still another apparatus which is a hand manipulated device for cleaning teeth that includes a handle with a nub disposed thereon and which is provided with extending, spaced arms having notches at the ends thereof. An endless or circular elastomeric dental floss or tape is disposed in the notches thereby passing across the space between the arms and around the nub. In a variation of the device, a simple length of elastomeric band is anchored in the notches of the arms by means of shim or heads.
A further dentition cleaning instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,274 in which a strand of dental floss is mounted on an extended fork which supports the strand and permits an oscillating movement which is imparted thereto by a drive means. In addition, the device also includes a spool for carrying the strand for use in each subsequent cleaning cycle. A still further dentition cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,483 in which the device includes a pair of projecting arms disposed on a support frame, the arms being provided with guides at their outer ends to receive and permit relative movement of floss which passes from a spool to a take-up reel mounted on the supporting frame. The floss is driven in a reciprocating manner through a device provided with means to alternately remove floss from the supply spool and feed it to the takeup spool after each use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,022 there is disclosed another powered dentition cleaning or polishing device. This patent discloses a tool having a conical stem portion which is adapted to be inserted in and removed from a handle in which a reciprocating socket is provided therefore. The operating end of the tool is wedgelike and pointed, two broad sides being rough in order to abrade dentition surfaces and a third side thereof being narrow and smooth in order to prevent injury to the gingiva. Another power cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,745. This device includes a housing provided with spaced prongs and a dental tape or floss holder and supply unit adapted to be removeably attached to a power unit which imparts reciprocating motion to the tape as well as permitting the feeding of new tape to the unit after each use. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,524 discloses a power driven dentition cleaning device including a power unit which is adapted to receive a cleaning unit which includes an elongated shaft provided with a pair of spaced tines. A dental tape or floss supply holding member is removeably positioned on the power unit and the dental tape or floss is fed therefrom through an eyelet in each of the tines and back to the supply holding member where it is taken up on a take-up spool.
Mention may also be made of U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,740, U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,032, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,233, all of which involve devices in which the floss is held in fixed position relative to the structure which supports it, and that structure, along with the floss, is power driven.
While the various devices disclosed in the above-mentioned patents are useful for cleaning dentition surfaces, they still exhibit various disadvantages. For example, many of them are extremely complex in structure and consequently relatively expensive to manufacture. In addition, many of the known structures are relatively difficult to employ, often being difficult to load and requiring complex adjustment to impart the required tautness to the dental tape or floss utilized therewith.
In addition, many of the known devices do not provide maximum contact of the floss with the dentition surfaces to be cleaned and, in addition, due to their construction, necessitate the use of more than the needed amount of dental tape or floss for carrying out a given cleaning operation.
The disadvantages of the above-described devices have been substantially eliminated by the devices and processes set forth in my prior patents, U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,957 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,811. In Pat. No. 4,339,957, there is disclosed a dental prophylaxis device which comprises in combination a housing means provided with an axial cavity and having a pair of spaced tines provided with slotted openings disposed thereon and projecting outwardly therefrom, stationary support means on the housing in the vicinity of the base of each of the tines and oscillating support means located on the housing between the bases of the tines and which is supported on a cylindrical sleeve that is disposed axially within the cavity of the housing, the housing means being adapted to be connected to driving means to drive the oscillating support means through the cylindrical sleeve.
The dental prophylaxis process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,957 comprises contacting the dentition surfaces to be treated with a dental floss having a thread segment which is provided with a non-elastic loop at one end and an elastic loop at the opposite end, reciprocating the thread segment over the surfaces of the dentition to be treated, while expanding and contracting the elastic loop in response to the application of tensile force to the dental floss as it reciprocates over the dentition surfaces and absorbing the tensile forces which is imparted to the dental floss when it encounters resistance as it reciprocates over the dentition surfaces and the elastic loop expands.
The device disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,811 comprises a housing, a pair of stationary tines extending therefrom adapted to receive and support a length of dental floss extending therebetween, said length of floss having a pair of free ends extending therefrom beyond said tines, an exposed oscillatable part mounted on said housing, means on said part for receiving said pair of free floss ends, and drive means in said housing operatively connected to said part for driving it in oscillation, whereby, when said part is driven in oscillation, said floss translates back and forth between said tines.
While my previous devices and process have substantially eliminated the disadvantage of prior devices, there still exists a need for further improvement. The present invention fulfills this need.
All of the prior flossing devices suffered from the deficiency that when activated the floss does not reciprocate in a linear plane. Rather, the movement of the floss in these prior flossing devices entailed reciprocation through an arc. Thus, the floss in contact with the dentition surface was in reality only the point at the bottom of the arc. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a flossing device whereby the floss will reciprocate in a linear plane thus ensuring that a longer section of floss will contact the dentition surface during reciprocation. It is a further object of the present invention to simplify the prior flossing devices and provide a device that is disposable and can be readily adapted to the conventional dental handpiece.